A Poem of the Play Romeo and Juliet
In the fair town of Verona
Is where our story's set.
There were two feuding households
Montague and Capulet.
A fight outside private doors
Brought to surface the strong rivalry.
The Prince interfered—"If this happens once more,
You'll suffer the death penalty!"
At a Capulet party that night,
Which Romeo Montague attended,
There blossomed love at first sight
His affection for Rosaline ended.
Unfortunately, the girl he had seen
Was of the Capulets
Romeo soon learned from the Nurse
That the girl's name was Juliet.
He sneaked back into her garden
Juliet spoke from her balcony above
They planned to meet at Friar Laurence's cell
Where they would finalize their love.
The next day, after their secret marriage,
Another fight, filled with pain,
Broke out between the rival familes
And Romeo's friend had been slain.
In revenge, he went after the killer:
Tybalt, of the Capulets
Romeo won and down beat the sun
On Tybalt, whose death had been set.
Romeo, horrified, fled the scene
And Prince Escalus entered once more.
Romeo was banished, never to be seen again
Inside of Verona's gate doors.
There was a man named Count Paris
Who also loved the daughter of Capulet.
He went to Lord Capulet with the question
Could he marry his girl, Juliet?
Lord Capulet did agree
And Juliet was told the news.
Horrified and angry, she seethed—
"You can't make me! I won't! I refuse!"
Capulet was shocked and surprised
And to his daughter's room he came.
He proceeded to say, "You will marry Count Paris
Or never be in this house again!"
Dismayed and frightened, poor Juliet
Went to Friar Laurence for help.
He said to Juliet that if she would accept
He knew how she could fake her own death.
"Just take this potion," the Friar explained.
"It'll seem as if death's in the air.
However, you'll only be in a deep sleep
And when you wake, Romeo and I will be there."
Juliet thanked him and took the potion,
Lying to her dad,
"Please, father, I have repented my sins
I'll marry good Paris and be glad."
Delighted, Lord Capulet, to Juliet's dismay,
Decided to speed things up a bit.
He moved his daughter's wedding up one more day
Which could give the secret scheme quite a twist.
That evening, as Juliet lay in her bed,
With pale fingers she clutched the potion.
Thoughts of what might happen ran through her head,
But she hastily dismissed the fearful notions.
Juliet began to call for her Nurse,
But realized this must be done with no help.
She raised the trembling vial up to her lips
And drank it in one undeterred gulp.
The next day, the Nurse saw Juliet lying still in bed
And word spread fast through the city.
"Juliet, daughter of Lord Capulet, is dead!
Who ever would have thought such a pity?"
Balthazar, Romeo's faithful servant,
Had heard the woeful muse.
He rode to Romeo's new home
And told his master the terrible news.
Distraught and stricken with grief,
Romeo quickly made up his mind.
He got a poison from the apothecary
With Balthazar trailing behind.
Romeo traveled back to Verona
In the darkest hours of night.
He got to the Capulets' monument, and Paris was there—
The two of them got into a fight.
Paris was killed quite quickly
And Romeo proceeded inside.
He saw Juliet and fell to his knees,
Kissing his love one last time.
Clutching the vial and drinking the poison,
Romeo felt it coursing through his veins.
With a flourish, he fell back on the monument floor
Never to be seen alive again.
Friar Laurence entered the monument
Expecting Juliet to wake up.
However, when he came upon Romeo,
His gasp was short and abrupt.
Juliet woke, and the Friar did try
To get her to come back with him.
However, a strange noise outside
Sent him fleeing, but she chose to stay.
The girl let out a choked gasp
When she saw her love lying dead on the floor.
She bowed her head and knew at once what to do—
She would join her true love once more.
With trembling hands did Juliet stand
Tears streaming down her face
Romeo's dagger, which she held straight above her,
Was soon put in its place.
The Friar soon arrived with more people,
Prince Escalus and the two families
When they realized Romeo and Juliet were dead
Friar Laurence confessed it was he.
He told them the story of what happened,
And didn't leave anything out.
The two lovers' story, from beginning to end,
Was finally known without a doubt.
Prince Escalus announced that some would be pardoned
But still others would have to be punished.
Montague declared, waving his hand in the air,
That a statue of Juliet would be prominent.
And although the lovers' deaths brought plenty woe,
It brought the feuding families together.
The story of Juliet and her Romeo
Is a tale that deserves to be remembered.